Rizal resided in Brussels, Belgium where he wrote articles for La Solidaridad and continued work on his second novel. He became disturbed by worsening news from Calamba and planned to return to the Philippines due to despair over problems he could not resolve from abroad. While in Brussels, Rizal had an affair with his landlady's niece Suzanne who fell in love with him, though he was lonely living abroad.

1. CHAPTER 15
The Visionary Journalist to
Paris and Brussels

2. Synthesizing Historical Materials
About the Philippines
❑ Rizal realized that numerous materials about the Philippines and
Filipinos, particularly in the libraries and museums in Acapulco, Sevilla,
Madrid, Paris, London and Berlin.
❑ If we are to understand fully our past, Rizal felt that these materials
have to be collected and synthesized.
❑ In order to address the problem associated with synthesizing these
historical materials found in the different libraries and museums in
Europe, Rizal conceived of the organization of an International
Association of Philippinologists, with Rost, Blementritt and himself as
organizers.

3. Synthesizing Historical Materials
About the Philippines
❑ Rizal told Blumentritt that the organization of the international
association would coincide with the Universal Exposition of 1899 in Paris.
❑ Blumentritt accepted Rizal’s offer but suggested that Independent tribes
and regions of the Philippines be included in the agenda.
❑ The plan did not materialize since the French government limited the
number of conference to be held in Paris during exposition of 1899.

4. Rizal and the Exposition of 1889
❑ Rizal founded the Kidlat Club on March 19, 1889, upon his arrival in the
City.
❑ The Paris exposition was opened May 6, 1889.
❑ Another society that Rizal founded in Paris was the Indios Bravos,
which replaced the Kidlat Club.
❑ In Addition to the aforementioned society of Filipino patriots, Rizal
founded the Sociedad R.D.L.M (Redencio de los Malayos).

5. Other Activities and Accomplishments
in Paris
❑ Rizal published his annotation of Morga’s Sucesos, was in Paris.
❑ It was also in the city where he wrote the satirical essay, entitled
Por Telefono under the pen name Dimas Alang, in answer to the
attacks made by Fr. Font against his novel Noli Me Tangere.
❑ A project conceived by Rizal while in Paris was the establishment of a
modern college in Hongkong.
❑ Rizal continued contributing articles to the La Solidaridad.

6. Sobre La Indolencia delos Filipinos
❑ This was the longest essay written by Rizal, which was published in five
installments in the La Solidaridad, from the July 15 to September 15, 1890
(Romero et al, 1978).
❑ This essay represents his defense of the Filipinos from the charge that
they were inherently lazy or indolent.
❑ Rizal’s thesis in this essay was simple; That Filipinos were not born lazy
but had predisposition to become lazy.

7. Sobre La Indolencia delos Filipinos
❑ Rizal noted that it was the European, surrounded by servants, who was
the paragon of laziness in the tropics.
❑ People in the tropics are expected to work less.
❑ Hot climate, however, was compensated by the fertility of the soil. As a
consequences, the peasants did not have to work hard to insure good
crops.

8. The Factors that fostered Indolence Attributable to
the Spanish Colonizers:
1. Wars and Internal disorders that followed Spanish Conquest
2. Piratical Attacks on Coastal Towns and Villages by Muslim Pirates
3. Forced Labor in Shipbuilding
4. Government’s Neglect and Apathy to Agriculture, Industry and Commerce
5. Absence of Material and Moral Incentives To Work Harder
6. The Teaching of the Spanish Missionaries That Heaven is for the Poor
7. Too Much Government Restriction and Red Tape In the Approval of Permit to Transact
Business
8. Encouragement and Propagation of Gambling
9. Ownership of the Big Estates by the Friars
10. Example Set By the Spaniards in Disdaining Manual Labor
11. Deprivation of Human Dignity

9. The Factors Attributable to the
Filipinos themselves:
1. Feeling of Inferiority
2. Placing Hopes on Miracles
3. Lack of Spirit to Pursue Lofty Purposes
4. Lack of National Sentiment

10. Rizal concluded his essay by stressing the need
for good education and liberty as the keys to
achieving progress in the Philippines and in solving
the problem in indolence.

11. Filipinas Dentro De Cien Anos
❑ He wrote Filipinas Dentro De Cien Anos or The Philippines A Century Hence to forecast
the future of the country within a hundred years.
❑ The aforementioned essay came out as a series of four articles in the La Solidaridad
from September 30, 1889 to February 1, 1890.
❑ This essay starts with an analysis of the causes of the miseries of the people
❖ One of the causes identified in this article was Spain’s implementation of her military policies.
❖ A second cause of this misery was the deterioration and disappearance of Filipino Indigenous
culture.
❖ A third cause of this miserable condition of the people was their passivity and
submissiveness to the Spanish colonizers.

12. One question raised by Rizal in his essay was, could Spain prevent
the progress of the Philippines? Should Spain decide to do so, what
could she possibly do: keep the people ignorant; keep the people in
poverty; or exterminate the Filipino race?
I. Keeping the people ignorant had failed. This can be attested by the awakening of
national consciousness among the people, which had united them.
II. Keeping the people in poverty created in the Filipinos the desire to change things.
III. Extermination of the people as an alternative to hindering progress was an
impossibility according to Rizal.

13. Can the divide et impera or divide and rule policy
still work to foster emmity between and among
the natives?
❑ To Rizal, this would no longer be effective owing to the ease of
movement in the archipelago brought about by improved means of
transportation.
❑ This, in effect, can lead them to realize their common plight which can
foster in them greater unity as a people.

14. ❑ The third article of Rizal’s essay centered on the reforms and political
changes needed for the Philippines to remain under the Spanish rule.
❑ He stressed that reforms have to be initiated by the government for them
to be peaceful and effective. This was “any change originated by the masses
would definitely be fatal and violent”.
❑ The last article of this essay delved on the stages that would lead the
Philippines to independence.
❑ Inasmuch as the Filipinos are not ready for independence, Rizal predicted
that Spain would be deposed or replaced by another power.
❑ To Rizal, European powers will definitely not be interested in taking over the
Philippines.

15. ❑ Asian powers would not be interested in gaining control of the Philippines.
❑ If Spain will not be replaced either by a European or an Asian power. To
Rizal, this country is none other than United States of America.
❑ What Rizal envisioned in this essay came true
❑ On May 1, 1898, the Americas entered the Philippines and wrestled from Spain
the control of the Philippines.
❑ Fifty years after Rizal’s death, the independence of the country was
recognized on July 4, 1946.

16. Rizal In Brussels
❑ Rizal left Paris for Brussels, Belgium on January 28, 1890.
❑ His departure from this city was brought about by two reasons.
❑ The cost of living in Paris has become exorbitant.
❑ Rizal could not resist the gay social life in Paris, which interfered with the
writing of his second novel, El Filibusterismo.
❑ Rizal transferred to Brussels and resided in a boarding house on 38 Rue
Champagne managed by Suzanne and Marie Jacoby.
❑ He spent a large bulk of his time writing his second novel, as well as
articles for the La Solidaridad.

17. Articles written for the La Solidaridad
1. A La Defensa ( To Defense )
2. La Verdad Para Todos ( The truth for all )
3. Vicente Barrantes’ Teatro Tagalo
4. Una Profanacion ( A Profanation )
5. Verdades Nuevas ( New Truths )
6. Crueldad ( Cruelty )
7. Diferencias ( Difeerences )
8. Inconsequencias ( Inconsequences )
9. Llanto y Risas ( Tears and Laughters )
10. Ingratitudes ( Ingratitude )

18. Criticism of Filipino’s Passion for Gambling
While in Brussels, Rizal was informed by Juan Luna and Valentin Ventura that many
of his fellow expatriates in Madrid had become too much preoccupied with gambling.
Disturbing News from Home
Rizal was disturbed by the news he received from Calamba, while in Brussels. He
came to learn that the agrarian problem had worsened.
The Premonition of Rizal
As a consequence of the despair brought about circumstances, which he was not
able to cope with, Rizal planned to return to the Philippines.

19. The Plan to Return to the Philippines
Depressed and anxious of the misfortune suffered by his family in Calamba, Rizal
planned to return to the Philippines.
A Mi Musa ( To My Muse )
This poem was written by Rizal in 1890 as a result of his disenchantment over the
lukewarm attitude of the Filipino expatriates in Sapin working for reforms from the
Spanish Government.
Rizal’s Affair with Suzanne Jacoby
Being lonely in Belgium, Rizal had an affair with Suzanne, one of the pretty nieces
of his landladies. Suzanne fell in love with him due to his charm and dignified manners, just
like the other women in the lie of Rizal.